Cost of Living in Cebu

Really no point in living in Cebu as a single guy. Locals don't want you there bc of rampant sex tourism, nightlife is going down the drain, girls are ugly and have adopted this fake western attitude. Just an all around shitty environment. So many better places to choose compared to this dump.

People are too proud of this shitty city, very arrogant while at the same time being resentful of westerners. Crappy food, uninspiring local culture.The on ly thing worth coming here for has taken a sharp nosedive.

That's right. Everything in the Philippines is bad. The only country worth visiting in the world is Thailand. I have a nice condo in Chang Mai. You can live there for free with free utilities. How's that for a deal?

I have to agree with kyle, they even have to lie with age with you. what a joke! this country has bad culture .

I'm talking to a girl that lives in lapu lapu she says everything is expensive there is this tru?

Cebu is a great place to visit , live or retire. The cost of living is cheap compaired to the western world. There are parts of the city that are not safe. But you can avoid them. The people are friendly . You can find that most speak English . They have a rich culture.

To XPAT...Traveler50yrs

Not sure which part of the globe you came from mate. The way you describe the Philippines or perhaps you are referring to Cebu in particular is pathetic. It inly shows that you are not a traveler and lacks proper education. I suppose you came from the "underworld" and not from a civilized, peace loving world!!!!

When you come to the Philippines ..Trust no one...believe no one....keep you hands on your pockets..do not look like you have money...don't ask for any help from one because no one cares about you or anything...also don't get sick here and don't call police for anything again no one cares..if your from a 3rd world country or running away for a place to hide this is a good place..your on your own here...no matter where you live..IT Park OR Ayala,Busay, Maria Luisa,dirty streets and poor people, and ...NO NICE BEACHES.....just a poor country...in or around the city you have squatters and bad areas...if you live here or stay any amount of time be sure it has armed guards..NOT A JOKE...if you can Take care of yourself..Hells Angels Biker Type..you will have no problem..enjoy Cebu and the Philipplines.....If your a Foreigner Here Your a Target

im looking at these numbers and some do not add up. ive never had an electric bill under 6,00" peso in the entire almost 4 years ive been in the philippines, i have two aircons with ac running 12 hours a day on average afternoon through 4am throughout the week but in the summer wow it could run 24/7 with some of the city heat. in cebu i average 8,900 normally in the summer closer to 11k. in manila in a 40m apartment i averaged around 6,000 with my highest being 9000 in the summer. water anywhere from 100 to 400 peso. i have lived in both manila and cebu long term similar places, manila in costs for me is cheaper but if your a city person. in cebu i feel u need at least a motor bike where as in manila its very easy to figure out public transpo and safe in my opinion on the mrt and lrt. accordibg to this site cebu is 2% more expensive than manila i would go as far to say cebu is closer to 10% more. i think do to more vacationers in cebu some resort areas are very high priced even for locals

Most of the highest price rates are not even close, I have never had less then 8,000peso electric bill, and that is just bedroom new aircon. If you want to live decent in Cebu you need $2,000 a month to live on if you want to live normal, as the things we westerns like and comfort do cost more, sometimes more than the states.

Can anyone tell me the average cost of leasing a small farm for Vegetable growing, rearing pigs and chickens.

I am trying to work out a rule of thumb

Labangon street side property can get pricy. V. Rama, Katipunan, Tres De Abril, all major routes are overpriced. P10k-P25k per sqm. Look at it from the perspective of a ROI. Is it an investment? If so how many in the market will be able to buy it from you. And more importan beware the capital gains, etc etc. Been there done that ( in Labangon), Its expensive.

To Mike David,

Please stop making false statements regarding your business proposal, for there was never one! We don't accommodate your kind here in Cebu and globally. We don't tolerate opportunist such as you. Do you know the word "scam"? That is you, a scammer. Get lost and live these poor people alone. Get a job.

Places to Live and Retire in the World – Cebu, Philippines
http://www.lerumba.com/RealEstate/places-to-live-and-retire-in-the-world-cebu-philippines-article-51.aspx#.V1Fvrb6qGIQ

Dieter,
My sister bought some land in Philippines. She had a hard time saying it belongs to her then my mom went there and threatened them. They finally backed off.

CEBU International Airport harassing tourist... CEBU Airport NOT SAVE FOR BACKPACKERS... Apparently the staff including the airport manager are on a crusade to pay back to western tourist for what xenophobic western officials are doing to Filipinos traveling abroad... Apparently sex tourist are warmly welcomed as they bring the money... AVOID CEBU as entry point... there have been several cases of deportation of Americans, Europeans and Australians back to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. The Philippine government is well informed about the occurrences but has not moved a finger. Good luck with the paedophiles and the sex tourist! You will need it...

Hello guys.. If you looking a house and lot or condo or any property, dont hesitate to ask me about your concerns,, international property endorser living in cebu and i can discuss you about the probable cost of any property you want to buy.

Sun 09225159933
Landline (032) 231-2878

I have been coming to the PH for the past 10 years and have had my share of good and bad times too. In 2014, I moved to Cebu to live on my SS fund at $1400 per month. For myself, I can manage however, I make most all of my meals at home. When I first got here, I met a Pilipina from the internet (mistake) as she and an accomplice turned out to be scammers/gold diggers when they skillfully, her and her BF (she referred to as "cousin") kept pressuring me into purchasing a house and land. They kept saying: "You get nowhere renting." ~Really??? I lived in the US for 40+ yrs, married twice, bought 3 houses and I didn't know that! LOL!! But no foreigner - no matter what - CANNOT own land here in the Phils; at least not more than 40% -if you form a corporation. You can certainly buy - or shell-out the money for property - but the property has to be in a Pilipino's name. I don't operate well under pressure and ignored their pleas for the most part and within 3 weeks, I caught them together in the shower, so out they went with the garbage they were! :-]

This is an issue here as most all Pilipinos will side and adhere to their "fellow people," and very rarely will they be completely loyal to their foreigner partners. As it has been said here before, never trust anyone 100% and keep atop of all affairs -especially where your money is concerned! Also, it is true that the scammers, thieves, ripoffs are here and in abundance but pertaining to my prior sentence, be vigilant, and just use your common sense and act accordingly. Many times you can avoid an unfortunate occurrence but sometimes, they will get you. Once more, it is always best to travel with a Pilipino that you can trust to avoid most of the possible ripoffs and scams. The key here is you have to be able to trust them and that they will be loyal to you!

So on my $1400 SS budget, I can rent a new, 1 bedroom condo (52 sq meters), on the 25th floor, in a very good area of Cebu City (I.T. Park) at P17,000/mo (current exchange rate @$393/mo), unfurnished. Food at the many good quality grocery chains here (Metro, Rustans, SR, etc) around P10,000/mo (current exchange rate @231/mo), however, I buy a lot of organic and unprocessed foods though. Electric with A/C on "frugal/conservative temps" (81-83 F), new LG Ref, new Yamaha A/V Receiver and Samsung TV, new LG Washing Machine, Laptop Computer, new Phillips Induction Cooktop, Florescent lights, around P2,000-2,500/mo (current exchange rate @$46.30/mo - $58/mo). If my unit was furnished, it would run easily, P1,000-4,000 more per month (current exchange rate @$23/mo - $93/MO)! Add that up and it is cheaper to purchase your own energy efficient appliances and goods. Water is around P700/mo ($16/mo). Internet, which isn't slow, relatively fast and runs usually at 3G and 4G at P1,000/mo (current exchange rate @$24/mo). You won't find internet in the US for that great of a price!

I gave up internet dating and am currently taking my time to locate a "GOOD" "LOYAL," TRUSTWORTHY," Pilipina and it is hard because, many of them want to take you, an older man for your money and for acquiring their material trophies! ;-) But in all honesty, it is no different from any other 3rd world country in reality.

Just read that post about it all being that bad in cebu. I can not really agree on that. ...

I plan to live in the Phillipines with a Filipino woman. I'm looking for a mistress and not a wife. I will screw her every night and get her pregnant with many children.

Hello,
We are looking for a housekeeper. We live in California.USA. I am wondering if there is a Philipina in Cebu who has a Passport/Visa or can obtain one, who would like to to work in the US.
If you are interested in this job E-mail me for more information.
Thank you.

Hi all,

I'm from Cebu with a wife and a 1yr old daughter currently earning around 80K/month net (Gross around 115K/month). I'm currently being interviewed for a role and I'm contemplating if I should accept it if it pushes through. I'm asking around 120K/month net (175K/month gross) - is that a good deal?

Although 80K/month in Cebu is good, one thing I'm considering is the career opportunities in MNL compared to Cebu. I'm still 31 and moving to Manila means earning more in the next years to come as opposed to the opportunities getting higher pay in Cebu. You don't get much opportunities with that salary.

Do you have any thoughts on this? Is it:
1. Ask for more? or
2. Just stay in Cebu since 80K/month net in Cebu is ok already?

Your thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks!

@Daku - totally not true. Cebu is known for its famous beaches, rich night life, history and good people. I doubt that you've ever gone to the place, since you've never mentioned about Fuente where the night life and destinations are. If yes, you might have gone to the province since you've mentioned there's no entertainment. I'm writing this to those who are planning to live and invest in Cebu for outsourcing.

I'm a Canadian and I have invested in Cebu for my online tech business. Bought a house outside the city with a beach front. There are of course plenty of beaches in Cebu, in fact that's what makes them very popular.

It's not "impossible to live in Cebu with under $2k". But if you want to live in the city for good, a decent salary in order to survive would be $1000 USD per month. The high cost of living is because Cebu is the 2nd biggest city in this country, which is by far better than either Manila or Davao in terms of overall satisfaction.

I am not sure where you're seeing cockroaches and just pickpockets or hookers. But every major city in Asia has them (I travel to over 12 countries already and trust me, I can tell the difference). I hire tech people, programmers and assistants from Cebu, which helped me grow my business hands-off. I always make sure that they're well paid, since they deserve it. Cebuanos are highly educated in my opinion, more than people in Manila (the capital) and the cost of living is lower, which means you can pay professionals around $500 - $2000 per month and they'll be alright ($2000 is by far a large sum for any Cebuano or Filo but I'm talking about high end programmers here).

When I say professional I mean really professional, not just certified. They're natural English speakers so the BPO industry is booming as the largest, and you can hire programmers who can do a lot for you in a month for $2000. This may seem like a lot, but if you're running a business, this is by far the best investment you have.

The caveat though is that people in Cebu can be very sensitive. This is probably because of their catholic background and the upbringing. Although they can adjust to the American culture and can work with you attitude, you MUST NEVER insult a Cebuano in a personal level or else you'll never gain back their full trust. They usually are very humble, which can be mistaken as intimidation, but they are very confident people but they tend to show their warm attitude through humility.

If you own a huge company, outsourcing in the Philippines can be easy but you may encounter a lot of bureaucracy in that matter. The government in the Philipinnes can be very corrupt! So you need to have a lot of money in hand for building rents and all that, so establishing a company can cost you almost the same amount in the US but you will get even in terms of the salary you pay your people.

Avoid the Island of Mindanao? Biggest mistake and your missing a lot...
You can go for Iligan, Cagayan de Oro,Davao or Gen San visit Manny Pacman for an autograph...seriously a lot of things ou will me miss me if you avoid Mindanao esp. Western Mindanao..

How hard is it to get a large home? what would be the cost? What about near the ocean?

Hi the information on this blog is just amazing it keeps me coming back time and time again ,personally i met my wife using this site so i couldnt like it any more i have done my best to promote this blog as i know that others need to read this thing ,Thanks for all your effort spent in making this fabulous resource ! ok,nice one Jake

Michael,
Golf supplies are scarce (shoes, clothes, clubs, grips, repairs etc). No problem with tees, balls, etc.

Michael,
Golf is about $40. Bc you must have caddy and should have cart, its hilly. Nice course tho. Ill be back in cebu in oct. malls are great, good food. Taxi is maybe $8-10 each way. You can put your clubs in the trunk no problem. I am a member so playing with a member saves a few bucks. You will enjoy it.
Steve

Hi Michael,

I live in Hillsboro, Oregon and from Cebu. I'm not familiar about playing golf in Cebu but I'll check my brother about the country club and let you know.

After reading some of your comments I feel a little nieve...I am looking for a 6 month get away for some much needed R and R and I was thinking of the Philippines for almost next to nothing in cost and my next to nothing means $500.00 a month consisting of rent/lodging and utilities plus food in a good living environment but after reading some post I'm not confident can be done plus the R and R seems thrown out the window and one big daily hassle taking place...can somebody in simple terms tell me if I should be excited for a enjoyable 6 month break in the Philippines or maybe look elsewhere? ???

#Giuseppe,

Your dream is not stupid. Sometimes, we dream something impossible.

Apartment for sale,Labangon Cebu City, Lot area 324 sq.m., 5 doors 2 storey.Pls. contact: phil_amlife@yahoo.com

Let me know if you're interested of buying a property (land)in Cebu. E-mail me cgorton28@hotmail.com